Viceroy of NaplesPortrait Duke of AlbaChronology of Viceroy of Naples
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Essential Chronology
of the History of Naples

Mainland southern Italy and Sicily were conquered independently by
various Norman knights, the former from the Byzantines and Lombards,
the latter from the Saracens, in the course of the eleventh and early
twelfth centuries.
They were formed into the Kingdom of Sicily, with its capital at Palermo,
under Count Roger II of Sicily (1130).
This kingdom was conquered successively by the Hohenstaufens (Swabia)
and the Angevins (Anjou and Provence ); Charles I of Anjou moved the
capital to Naples.
Under the Angevins, and thereafter, the mainland is known as 'Sicilia
citra Farum' (i.e., Sicily on this side of the lighthouse marking the
straits of Messina), but comes often to be called the Kingdom of Naples;
the island of Sicily is known as 'Sicilia ultra Farum' (beyond the lighthouse).
The revolt known as the Sicilian Vespers (1282) separated the island
from the mainland and placed it under Aragonese rule; after the conquest
of Naples by Alfonso of Aragon (1435-42) the island and the mainland
came again under a single ruler, but on Alfonso's death (1458) they
were again separated; the conquest of Naples by Ferdinand of Aragon
(1501-04) once more placed them under a single ruler, but administrative
union in the form of the 'Kingdom of the Two Sicilies' was not carried
through until 1816.

G.van Wittel La Darsena of Naples

The
Normans

1059
Treaty of Melfi; Pope Gregory VII legitimizes conquests by Robert Guiscard
and his Norman associates under papal suzerainty

1130-1154
Roger II, previously count of Sicily, claims kingship of Sicily, Apulia,
and Capua (1130); overcomes opposition of Pope Innocent II by defeating
and capturing the pope. His successors are William I, the Bad (1154-1166)
and William II, the Good (1166-1189)

1186
Constance, aunt of William II, marries Henry, heir of Frederick Barbarossa;
on William's death she is his heiress (1189)

The Hohenstaufens

1189-1197
Emperor Henry VI claims the Sicilian throne in the right of his wife;
he is opposed by Tancred of Lecce (d. 1194)

1229
Pope Gregory IX claims Sicily in Frederick's absence, but he returns
and re-establishes his authority

1231
Frederick II proclaims the Constitutions of Melfi (the Liber Augustalis),
organizing the government of the Kingdom of Sicily under an apparatus
of royal control (he leaves again for Germany, 1235)

1236
Frederick II begins a series of campaigns in northern Italy that drain
the resources of Sicily (he returns to Apulia, 1249, and dies there)

1250-1254
Emperor Conrad IV; he names his illegitimate half-brother Manfred as
vicar in Sicily and Italy

1254-1266
Manfred assumes power in his own right after Conrad IV's death; (he
is crowned at Palermo, 1258, and extends his influence to northern Italy)

1420
Joanna is attacked by Louis III of Anjou, Martin V, Sforza; defended
by Caracciolo with the assistance of Alfonso of Aragon and the condottiere
Braccio da Montone

1421
Joanna adopts Alfonso of Aragon as her heir

1423
Alfonso and Braccio quarrel with Caracciolo; Caracciolo has Joanna adopt
Louis III of Anjou as her heir, make peace with Martin V

1431
Caracciolo, having made enemies among the nobility, is assassinated.
Alfonso of Aragon gains influence

1433
Joanna again adopts Alfonso of Aragon as her heir

1433-34
Louis III campaigns to take over the kingdom, but dies (Nov. 1434)

1435
Joanna on her death (Feb.) bequeaths the kingdom to René of Anjou
(brother of Louis III)

The Aragonese

1435-1458
Alfonso I of Aragon, the Magnanimous

1435-42
Conflict with the forces of René of Anjou

1442
Alfonso occupies the city of Naples; arranges for his illegitimate son
Ferrante to succeed him there (while his brother John succeeds in Aragon
and Sicily); Pope Eugenius IV comes to terms (1443)

1458-1494
Ferrante (Ferdinand I)

1458-64
Conflict with the forces of René, then John of Anjou

1480-81
Turkish occupation of Otranto

1485
The Great Barons Conspiracy (Francesco Coppola Count of Sarno,Antonello
Sanseverino Prince of Salerno, Pietro Guevara Marchese del Vasto , Pirro
del Balzo Prince of Altamura , in the Angevin interest, with support
from the Pope; Ferrante (1486) makes terms with some of the barons,
arrests and later executes the ringleaders , makes terms with the Pope

1495
Ferrandino returns to the mainland (July) and regains control of the
kingdom but dies (Oct. 1496)

1496-1501
Frederick of Altamura (uncle of Ferrandino)

1500
Secret Treaty of Granada between Ferdinand of Aragon and Louis XII of
France for the conquest and partition of Naples (Nov.)

1501
Joint Franco-Spanish invasion; Frederick of Altamura is forced into
exile (Aug.; he dies in France, 1504; but his son the Duke of Calabria
takes up residence in Spain)

1501-1516
Ferdinand the Catholic, of Aragon

1503-04
Following disagreements between the French and Spanish conquerors of
the kingdom, hostilities break out and the French are driven out (they
abandon their claim by treaty, 1505)

1503-07
Gonsalvo da Cordova acts as the king's lieutenant in Naples{ Viceroy
} (his most important successor under Ferdinand is Raymond of Cardona,
1509-22)

1516
On the death of Ferdinand, Naples, with Spain, is inherited by his grandson
Charles of Hapsburg (Charles I of Spain, after 1519 Charles V of the
Holy Roman Empire)

SICILY UNDER
ANGEVIN AND ARAGONESE RULE

Angevin conquest, revolt, Aragonese intervention

1266-1282

Charles of Anjou
becomes king as a result of his victories on the mainland; makes Naples
his capital rather than Palermo

1282
The 'Sicilian Vespers', a popular uprising against the French in which
many are massacred; Peter III of Aragon, inheritor of the Hohenstaufen
claims in Sicily and South Italy as the husband of Manfred's daughter,
lands on the island with an armed force

1282-1285
Peter III is crowned as Peter I of Sicily, refuses homage to the pope

1285-1295
James I (second son of Peter) becomes King of Sicily while his elder
brother Alfonso III inherits the Crown of Aragon

1291
On the death of Alfonso III James I of Sicily becomes also James II
of Aragon (to 1327); returning to Aragon, he places his younger brother
Frederick in charge of Sicily

The Independent Monarchy

1296-1337
Frederick II (younger brother of James I), on James coming to terms
with Pope Boniface VIII and abdicating the kingship of Sicily (1295),
with the backing of the Sicilian Estates declares himself an independent
king; he is excommunicated by the Pope and war against Naples follows

1302
Treaty of Caltabellotta, with Charles II of Naples; Frederick's position
is reluctantly acknowledged, but the Angevins will continue to make
attempts to dislodge the Aragonese from Sicily

1337-1342
Peter II

1342-1355
Louis, inheriting the throne at the age of four, is unable to establish
a strong government and accepts a tributary relationship to the papacy.
Baronial clans (especially the Chiaramonte and the Ventimiglia) quarrel
for power

1355-1377
Frederick III, the Simple. Intermittent war against Naples continues

1372
Naples and the papacy come to terms with Frederick as a tributary King
of 'Trinacria'

1377-1402
Mary of Aragon (daughter and heiress of Frederick III); government is
effectively taken over by the heads of four baronial families who style
themselves 'vicars'

1390
Mary is taken to Aragon and married to Martin 'the Younger' (grandson
of John II of Aragon); they return with a military force (1392), defeat
the opposing barons, and rule jointly until Mary's death (1402). Martin
repudiates the treaty of 1372 and rules as King of Sicily

1409-1410
Martin II, the Elder (Martin I of Aragon, father of Martin the Younger)
inherits Sicily after his son's death

Union with Aragon

1410
On the death of Martin the Elder, Sicily though subject to disorder
remains in union with Aragon, and is ruled by the kings of the House
of Trastamara (1412-1516) and then by the Hapsburgs; mainland Naples
is also in union with Aragon under Alfonso the Magnanimous (1435-1458)
and again under Ferdinand the Catholic (from 1501 on), but the island
will be governed separately from the mainland until 1816